CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard Sailing enjoyed an impressive debut to open its 2025-26 campaign this past weekend despite some poor weather condition across New England. The Crimson captured the weather-shortened Harman Cup, finished in second at the Charles Invitational and Harry Anderson Trophy, came in third at the Toni Deutsch Trophy, and enjoyed bright spots at the Harvard Invitational.

Charles Invitational | Cambridge, Mass.

In a regatta hosted by Bentley on Saturday, Harvard finished in second place (102) behind only Rhode Island and its score of 50. The two-division event featured Theresa Straw and Catherine Mignone (A), and Caroline Straw and Julia Downey (B) against a nine-team field that competed in an environment that featured winds between 5-10 knots and increased as the day progressed due to an incoming cold front (and later a tornado warning). T. Straw-Mignone finished fourth or better in five of nine races, with a win coming in Race 8 and a runner-up performance in Race 4, helping them post a score of 44, which was second in the field. C. Straw-Downey, meanwhile, was steady throughout, coming in second place in Race 3 and logging a trio of fifth-place efforts (Race 4, 8, 9) to register a 58.

Harman Cup | Castine, Maine

Poor weather canceled Day 2 of the regatta, which propelled Harvard to the victory after it finished four races on Saturday with a field-leading score of 9. Representing the Crimson at the one-division competition was skipper Harrison Strom and crew Xavier Ayala-Vermont, Mitchell Callahan and Kate Danielson. Among the eight teams in Maine, Harvard was the only squad to win more than one race as it finished first in Race 2 and 4. The Crimson came in fourth in the opener and third in Race 3.

Harry Anderson Trophy | New Haven, Conn.

The Crimson climbed three spots from its first-day showing to finish in second place after posting a two-day total of 64, which trailed only Brown's A-team (57). Robby Meek and Rosella Irfan went head-to-head with the A-Division and recorded four top-5 performances, winning Race 5, coming in second in Race 1 and 6, and finishing in fifth in Race 3. The duo clocked in with a regatta total of 23, which was the best effort across the top division. Over in the B-Division, Jacob Posner and Amelie Zucker did not finish lower than ninth in any race, with its top performance occurring in Race 5 when they came in fourth. They ended with a final score of 41.

Toni Deutsch Trophy | Cambridge, Mass.

At nearby MIT, Harvard registered a top-3 performance, coming in third place (144) behind Roger Williams (125) and Dartmouth (134).  Zoey Ziskind and Peyton Hadfield were the top pairing in the A-Division, registering a score of 59 after they were victorious three times (Race 5, 8, 10) and finishing outside the top six just once in 14 races (top 10 in all 14 races). Sophia Montgomery and Katherine Shin, meanwhile, were impressive in the B-Division, with three runner-up efforts (Race 2, 5, 9) and top-9 finishes in 12 of 14 outings en route to an 85.

Harvard Invitational | Cambridge, Mass.

The Crimson was one of six schools to have three entries at the one-day, weather-delayed Harvard Invitational on Sunday. Theresa Straw and Catherine Mignone formed Crimson 1 and the duo finished in a tie for eighth with Bowdoin 1, but took ninth due head-to-head tiebreaking rules. Harvard's top pairing posted a line of 9-12-4-9 to end with a 34. Caroline Straw and Julia Downey tied with Brown 1 for 10^th place and earned the nod over the Bears due to the number of high-place finishes. C. Straw-Downey went 15-2-10-11 for the regatta to finish at 38. Olivia Hogan-Lopez and Hanah Youn, meanwhile, came in 13^th out of 18 teams after going 17-4-12-14 for a 47.

Up Next

Harvard is set to compete at the NEISA Singlehanded Championships in Cranston, Rhode Island, from Sept. 12-13. The Crimson will also appear at the Hatch Brown Trophy (MIT) and Regis Trophy (Harvard) on Sept. 13.